Yellville grocery works to reopen after fumes woes

Yellville grocery works to reopen after fumes woes

When the Harps Food Store in Yellville closed last week because of gasoline fumes in the ventilation system, the city of 1,200 was left without a full-service grocery store with Thanksgiving fast approaching.

YELLVILLE, Ark. (AP) — When the Harps Food Store in Yellville closed last week because of gasoline fumes in the ventilation system, the city of 1,200 was left without a full-service grocery store with Thanksgiving fast approaching.

Harps officials say gasoline vapor seeped into an air duct that runs underneath the store. The grocery is rushing to encase the air tunnel so the store can open in time for customers to do their Thanksgiving shopping.

The Harrison Daily Times reports that state environmental officials say one of three groundwater sampling wells between the grocery and a nearby filling station revealed gasoline seeping through the soil, though the cause hasn't been pinpointed.

Yellville residents will still be able to shop for Thanksgiving in neighboring towns. A Wal-Mart Supercenter is seven miles away in Flippin.